Blue Diamonds and Fire
by w0nderland5
Summary: Because of a sudden family tragedy, 14 year old Alice Knight was orphaned and forced to leave her home town and never return. She wonders through the woods, almost starving, and finds her way to none other than the Phantomhive Manor. This a story about Alice and Ciel, and the young girl's revenge on the people who hurt her and her family. CielxAlice No Lemon, but a good story. XD
1. The Savior

It was beginning to rain; hard. Alice knew that she had to find somewhere to stay soon or else she was either going to freeze to death in the cool October weather, or starve to death from the lack of food she hadn't been eating. She had been alone in the woods for 2 days so far, and stopped running only when she needed to. She was dirty, hungry, wet, and exhausted. She was wishing that she didn't have to run from her home, but she knew that there was nothing for her to go back to.

'Stop it.' she thought to herself. 'There's no use worrying about that now, I have to remain focused on finding somewhere out of the rain.'

She began to run again, her legs in pain from the last several miles she had gone. The rain started to beat down so intensely, that it was beginning to get hard to see clearly. Just when she was considering whether or not she would be able to make over the hill that she had come to, she saw what look like light. She couldn't tell though, because the rain was so powerful.

'I have a better chance of living if I go towards the light, wow, where's the irony in that.' she thought sarcastically. "I'd better keep moving." she said aloud.

As Alice began to get nearer to the light she could make out a building, and the closer she became she began to realize that it was a manor. She was beginning to feel very dizzy and nauseous, and like she was going to pass out.

"Not now. Not when I've made it this far!" She yelled, muffled by the roaring thunder. She started to sprint, then began to run full speed at the looming building. She ran up the several flights of stairs, her adrenaline kicking in. She reached the top and felt as if she was going to pass out. She took the door knocker in her hand and pounded on the large wooded door several times. 'No one's going to hear Me.', she thought, panicking. 'I'm going to die so close to being saved.'

She could feel herself beginning to get very tired. Every muscle in her body that hurt began to lose all feeling. Her knees started to weaken, and she began to fall. Just as she hit the ground, she found herself looking up. She saw the ominous door opening and a tall man in black overcoat look down at her.

* * *

"RUN AWAY! GET OUT! LEAVE THIS TOWN! DO YOU HEAR ME? RUN. DON'T EVER COME BACK." The flames engulfed everything around her. A figure lay on the ground at her feet. Alice looked around panicked.

"But I can't leave you!", She screamed at the figure.

"RUN ALICE. GO!"...

"DAD NOOOO!" Alice sat straight up.

She realized she had just had another nightmare of what happened in her hometown, Ignus. She had been having that nightmare every time she closed her eyes, ever since that night. She noticed that she was sitting in a large bed. She looked around, and saw that she was in a large room with a fire place, some books shelves, a mirror, a bathroom, and a small table. The clothes she had been wearing the night before were lying on the table drying by the fire.

"Where am I?", she wondered aloud.

Just then there were two small knocks on the door to the room and a voice began to answer. "Why, you are in a guest bedroom of-", the door opened and a tall man with black hair walked in. "-Phantomhive manor. How are you feeling?"

She sat up completely and noted her pounding headache. "Better than I did. Who are you?

The man walked over to the fire and put two more logs on it. "I am the head butler of the Phantomhive estate. My name is Sebastian Michaelis. And may I ask what your name might be?"

"Alice, Alice Knight.", she said quietly, still confused as to where exactly she was and how she got there. The last thing she remembered was her running through the woods, almost starved to death. She did not know who she was dealing with quite yet so she made sure to keep her guard up.

"Well Miss. Knight," the butler said checking her clothes to see if they were dry. "Do you remember any of last night's events?"

"No, actually, I was wondering if you could possibly shed some light on the subject. What happened? I can't remember anything."

"Well,", he started off, "I had just seen the young master off to bed, when someone had knocked very loudly on the front entryway's door several times. When I came to open the door I looked down to find you lying there Miss."

'Now I remember,' Alice thought to herself. 'It's coming back to me now. I found the house in the woods, and I passed out after I knocked on the door. But how did I get in here?'

"And how did I get in here?", she moved the comforter off of her legs, revealing a button down shirt, that could have as well belonged to a young boy. "And when did I change clothes?"

The butler began to answer her question. "After I found you, I carried you to the parlor and lied you down on the sofa. I went and woke the young master, who after seeing you and how young you were, immediately told me to put you in the nearest guest room. After I brought you here, I borrowed one of the young master's night shirts and changed you. I kept your under garments on, however. You had a fever so I told the maid to get you some ice. I told the chef to make you some tea, and the gardener to pick you some medicinal herbs."

Alice looked over at the night table and saw the empty tea cup. 'They don't even know me and yet they took such care as to seeing to my health. I wonder why.' she thought to herself, pondering whose home she had so rudely invaded.

"After that you slept through the night, and you broke your fever. I'll see to it that you get a new pair of clothes," he started towards the door, "and the young master will be waiting down stairs in the main dining room for you. I will have breakfast prepared." He began to leave.

"Wait!" the butler turned around, "You keep saying 'Young Master'. Who is he?"

Sebastian turned around and smiled, "Lord Earl Ciel Phantomhive. You will get to meet him when you attend breakfast. I'll have you clothes sent up very shortly. If you don't mind, I must see to the breakfast preparations." he bowed, closed the door left for the kitchen.

"Thank you!" Alice yelled, hoping he would hear. 'This is all so much.' she thought to herself. 'And how is he going to cook breakfast in so little time?'

* * *

**Finally! I can't believe that I finally got this on here! I've been working on it forever! I know, I know, the title is really corny, but it suits the story. Please reveiw! I could use the tip/advice you awesome readers have!


	2. The Bargain

After being brought her new clothes, which was a black and silver dress with silver heels and a silver ribbon, Alice couldn't believe her eyes. She had never seen anything so beautiful in her life. She never really wore dresses before, and she liked the security that pants gave her, but she wasn't going to complain.

'Well at least I got to say thank you to that maid for bringing me the ice last night when she brought the dress. Although it was strange how she started shouting after I did.' Alice thought to herself as she tied the silver ribbon in her hair. 'I wonder whose dress this is.'

"Well, I'd better get downstairs. It would be even ruder to let the man who took care of me wait any longer", she said aloud.

She began to walk towards the main stairway. 'I hope I can remember the directions to the dining room that that maid gave Me.', she thought.

As she made her way to the main entryway she realized just how big the manor really was. It looked like it could have been home to a whole town. She thought about her old hometown, the short walks to school, hanging out with her friends down by the river, her family- 'Stop.', she said mentally. 'Don't get yourself worked up, not before you're about to have breakfast with someone.'

She eventually came to the main dining room, and Alice found herself nervous. She was scared to meet the person who took her in and took care of her, 'How stupid.' she thought. She took a deep breath and walked in.

She looked around the room. It was huge. There were at least twenty windows, which all had dark blue curtains on them. The walls were a pale blue, with gold trim. The high ceiling magnified the steps of her new shoes. In the center of the room she found a long table with several chairs, one of which was occupied by a young boy about her age. He was looking at the large blue ring on his finger, which was on his thumb that's nail was painted black along with all of the others, then he looked up at her. She found herself speechless when their eyes met each other. Well, more like her two eyes and his one. The boy had a black eye patch on his right eye, but that's not what caught her attention. His other eye was the most brilliant shade of blue she had ever seen. It almost matched the shade of the stone on his ring. He was wearing a black coat with a black waist coat and a black shirt, followed along with black pants and black shoes. His hair stood out from the rest of his outfit, it too was black, but a shade lighter. It had a blue tint to it. He was very handsome.

"Um, hello? Are you Lord Phantomhive?" Alice asked shyly. She had never felt this nervous talking to a boy before.

"Yes, and I presume you are Miss Knight?" replied the boy.

Alice was shocked, 'Could a boy this young really be at such a high title?'

"Yes, that's me."

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you. Come, sit down. Breakfast should be served soon." said the earl. Alice made her way over to the table. She couldn't stop admiring the boy's eye. "Are you feeling any better?" Ask the earl.

"Yes, very much, thank you.", for the first time ever Alice felt a blush creep across her cheeks. "And thank you very much for your hospitality and this dress. I'm very sorry that I caused such a disturbance, and I'll see to it that I leave tonight."

"You may leave when you want, but I would not suggest it. There is another storm coming, and we don't want a repeat of what happened last night now do we?"

Alice's blush deepened, "Oh No! I couldn't! I've already been such a burden on you! I couldn't imagine being even more of one! I'll just find another town to go to."

"Another town? Why don't you just go back to your home if you don't want to stay here?" asked the young earl.

For the first time, Alice didn't know what to say. 'I can't tell him that I was almost killed, that's a little too sudden. What should I do?'

"I ran away. I can't go back." she said softly with her head down.

"Oh?" replied the earl, "Why can't you go back?"

'What should I do? I can't say I'm at risk of being murdered!'

"Huh? Oh, well-", just then the doors opened and Sebastian walked in with the maid. They had a cart of food.

"Good Morning." said Sebastian. "This morning's breakfast is French toast with a poached egg and bacon. This morning's tea is Earl Grey.", Said Sebastian. "If there is anything else, let me know." he walked out.

"Wow, this is quite the meal. He is a very competent butler. He seems very efficient.", said Alice.

"He is very useful when I need him. But that does not mean I cannot do things on my own." retorted the earl.

"I didn't mean anything like-" Alice said quickly and slightly taken aback at his sudden harshness.

"Never mind, It's just that we never have many visitors here, so you are the most exciting thing that has shown up in this manor for a very long time. So the only people I ever talk to are him and the servants, so when it comes to other people, I don't know... but just talking to them gets...boring" said the earl, trailing off.

"You make it seem as if there hasn't been anyone here in years." said Alice, noticing that the earl seemed to smirk at that comment. "But, I could help you not feel so bored...if you want. I mean, I'll be leaving soon," Alice said not knowing where she would actually be leaving to, "but we could hang out and do things together. So, maybe you won't have to be so bored. I mean I would get bored to if I didn't have anyone else to talk to too."

The Earl looked at her to see if she was being serious or not. After seeing that she was, he slowly started to nod his head and eyed her suspiciously.

"Are you suggesting that because you feel that you should be nice to me for letting you into my home, or because you actually want to?"

Alice looked at him surprised, "Oh! No! I really want to! I mean, like I said, I would get bored too."

"Ok.", said the earl. This surprised Alice, although she didn't know why.

They began to eat breakfast. 'I need to start a conversation, this is really awkward.'

"Lord Phantomhive, what is it you do?" Alice asked, hoping it would go somewhere, and curious about its answer.

The earl smiled a half smile, "You can just call me Ciel. And I really don't do anything anymore. That's partly why I'm so bored."

'That's strange', Alice thought, 'I wonder why he doesn't do anything. But it's not my place to pry.'

"Ok. Ciel" Alice said rolling the name across her tongue. "I like your name."

"Huh?" Ciel was surprised. No one had ever said that before. "Oh, thank you." his cheeks went the slightest shad of pink. "And what about you Miss Knight? What is it you do?"

"Oh, you can call me Alice. And I used to work with my mother in our little shop. But it went out of business not too long ago.", Alice said with sadness.

"Alice huh? That's a beautiful name. It suits you.", Now it was Alice's turn to blush. "It must been nice, and not boring."

"Yeah, it was nice." She replied. "But since I can't go back, I can't reopen it like we were planning."

This made Ciel have an idea. "Wait, you said you can't go back right? And you have nowhere to stay? And you said that you would keep me from getting bored right? Well, I have a bargain."

"Huh,", Alice said questionably. "What is it?"

"Well," said Ciel, "Since you need a place to live at, you can stay here, on the condition that you do things with me and keep me from getting bored."

"What?" Alice said with shock, she almost choked on her tea. "I-I couldn't! I mean you barely know me! F-For all you know I could be some psychopathic killer, n-not that I am, but still!"

The earl laughed, "I don't have to worry, I am well protected, and besides, I don't think you could kill me."

Alice was so shocked, and a little confused as to his strange comment; couldn't be killed?. 'Well, it is a fair trade in the terms of what we need.' she thought.

"Ok. It's a deal. But there is just one thing." Alice said her heart racing and mind fuzzy.

"Yes?" said Ciel

"Well, I would need new clothes, and I really don't wear dresses."


	3. The Chocolate

The next day, after Alice had awaken from another nightmare, the same one as all the nights before, she was surprised to see several outfits of clothes, all made to fit her size, sitting on the table by her fire. She was surprised at how quickly they had appeared, and how nobody had ever come to take her measurements. The first outfit that she decided to wear was a dark blue button up shirt with a black bow, and a pair of black shorts. She had also received three new pairs of shoes, one pair of sneakers, one pair of flats, and the pair of heels she had been given yesterday. She wore a pair of knee high socks (that were also black), and she was given new black undergarments. When looking at the other clothes, black, blue, and silver ribbons fell out, so Alice tied her blonde hair back with the blue one.

'Oh my.' Alice thought to herself. 'This is all so nice. But can I really take it? I've already been such a burden. No. Stop it. You live here now. This is your new home. And Ciel has been more than gracious to allow you to live here and give you these.'

Alice looked in the mirror. She was amazed at how well the clothes fit her.

"I must thank Ciel when I see him." She told herself aloud.

Right when she was about to head towards the door, Alice noticed a piece of paper sitting on the table. It was partially covered by clothes, so she didn't see it at first. She picked it up, and it read:

"Alice, I hope you slept well, and your new clothes are to your liking. Meet me outside in the garden. Breakfast will be served out here this morning.

-Ciel"

'I'm glad I saw that before I left.' she thought to herself. 'But where is the garden?'

Alice made her way downstairs, and ended up almost running right into the gardener. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said to him apologetically.

"Oh! Hello!" He replied. "It's you! I'm so glad that you're feeling better! Do you need anything? Are you lost?"

"Well actually I am.", Alice said embarrassed. "Can you tell me how to get the garden? Breakfast is supposed to be being served out there."

"Oh yeah! It's through these doors and out to the left. You can't miss it. There is a long table out there. The young master told me you were coming. My name's Finny, by the way."

"Oh thank you Finny! Oh, my name's Alice. Thanks for your help." Alice said walking towards the door.

When she arrived outside she made her way over to the garden. Alice was in awe of how beautiful the rows of white roses were, and how it was the brightest thing in the whole manor. She saw Sebastian standing near the table, and behind Ciel, who was wearing an outfit similar to Alice's only with more black, and he was reading the paper. Alice hurried towards them.

"Good morning, Miss Knight.", said Sebastian, who moved to pull out her chair for her. "I hope you slept well."

"Yes thank you. And I hope you did too." said Alice.

The butler looked at her surprised and like she had said something funny.

"Thank you Miss.", said Sebastian. This confused Alice as to why he didn't say yes or no, but she shrugged it off.

"Good Morning Ciel." Alice said brightly. "I hope you slept well."

Again she was given that look. "Yes. And you too."

Sebastian brought over a tray with tea on it. "This morning's tea is Ceylon, served with scones. For breakfast, there are poached eggs served with sausage and ham." he added, "If there is anything else, just call." Sebastian took the tray and left for indoors.

Ciel put the paper down and looked at Alice. "I'm glad to see that the clothes fit."

"Yes. Thank you. They are perfect." she said shyly, although she didn't know why. "Oh yeah, sorry if I am prying, but who's dress was that that I wore yesterday?" the earl looked at her suddenly.

"Oh that? That was my Fiancé's."

"Oh! You're engaged? Your kind of young aren't you?" Alice asked.

Ciel smirked. "Yeah, young. But we are not engaged anymore."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Alice said quickly, embarrassing herself even further.

"No, it's alright. I guess you could say that things died between us." he said with a small smirk.

Alice thought she saw a faint outline of a smirk on his face "Oh."

"Any way we'd better eat, otherwise the food will get cold." said Ciel.

"Oh right." Alice said, suddenly remembering her hot plate of food. "Oh yeah, what do you want to do today?" she asked the earl.

He looked up at her in silence for a while. "Oh, well, um- I have no idea." This surprised Alice.

'You would think he would have some idea as to what he wanted to do if he was so bored.' She thought.

"Well we could go out. Go to town." she suggested.

"I can't.", he replied quickly, surprising her even more.

"Well why not?" she asked irritated.

"It's just, well, at this moment I can't be seen by anyone I know. It's just that I haven't seen them in so long, and-", Alice cut him off.

"So what? We'll just go to a town farther out. We can go to Bridgeport. I used to go there when I was younger. That way you won't see anyone you'll know. And you won't have to be cooped up in here."

Ciel looked at her. "That is not a bad idea." he said after a little. This gave Alice a feeling of satisfaction. They were going to have fun.

"Ok", she said, "When do you want to leave?"

"We could go after breakfast." he suggested. Alice liked that idea, that meant more time in town. She had always loved going with her mother to buy things for their shop.

"Deal, we'll go then." Alice agreed.

They ate their breakfast and drank their tea. Ciel called Sebastian back to tell him to get a carriage ready. Sebastian whispered something in Ciel's ear.

Ciel nodded his head and sent Sebastian off. They waited for a while, and then went to their rooms to grab coats. Despite the abnormally warm October morning, that night was going to be cold. Alice did not have a coat to wear, so Ciel gave her one of his. It was a little big on her, but she didn't mind. Sebastian came back to retrieve them, and they were off. The next nearest town was at least an hour away, so Ciel and Alice played old maid for a while. Ciel was beating her at first, but she made a comeback and won. When they had finally arrived in town, Alice had the biggest smile on her face.

"I haven't been to town in a long time" Ciel said, with an odd quietness to his voice.

"Well, don't worry. Neither have I. The last I came here was with my mother when I was ten." Alice started to remember the trips to the city with her mother again, putting her in a sad mood.

Ciel noticed that she seemed less enthusiastic than before, so he changed the subject. "How old are you, Alice?", he asked, realized he didn't actually know. Alice looked back up at him, "Oh! I'm 13 how old are you?" Ciel looked at her hard, making her feel uneasy. "Well, older that you would think," he said half to her, half to himself. "But I am 13 also."

Alice was confused, he didn't look any older than 13, but somehow he acted older, and more mature. It made Alice even more curious.

"So where do you want to go?" he asked, dispelling the odd silence that had grown between them.

"Huh? Oh yeah! I have just the place!" With that Alice grabbed Ciel's hand a dragged him out of the carriage. Sebastian followed behind. She pulled his hand the entire time they walked. When they arrived at the place, Ciel looked up to see a large sign the read, "Herman's Chocolates and Sweets".

"Chocolate?" Ciel asked.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Alice. "They're the best sweets you'll ever have! Come on!" she grabbed Ciel's hand again, pushing the band of his large ring into his thumb, making it rather painful.

Alice pulled him into the shop. It was a small store, but it smelled heavenly. The aroma of chocolate and sugar met their noses, and Alice let go of Ciel's hand. He grabbed his thumb, rubbing it. "So what should we get?" he asked.

"Well, what do you like?" Lollipops? Candies? Chocolate? That's my favorite." Alice asked, curious to know what the young earl like to eat.

"Chocolate, I guess." he said, overwhelmed by the girl's excitement.

Ciel and Alice picked out several bars of chocolate. He told Sebastian to pay for then while Alice and him went outside.

"Come on. Try it!" Alice said eagerly. "It's so good."

Ciel unwrapped one of the bars and bit into it. The earl was surprised at the amount of flavor hidden in the bar. After seeing Ciel's reaction, Alice opened one for herself. The sweet taste of the chocolate brought back memories of when she used to come here with her mother and father when she was younger. She began to feel sad once more. She felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Ciel asked with a piece of chocolate in his mouth. Alice laughed and blinked away the tears.

"Nothing.", she cleared her throat. "So what do you want to do next?"

"Well, we could go look for a coat for you." He said.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that. There's a shop around here where I used to get my old coats." Alice said, trying to remember where the shop was exactly.

The two waited for Sebastian to come back out of the shop, and headed off towards the store when he did. Alice was amazed as always with the tall buildings, docks and all the boats, and even more with the amount of people that gathered in one area. When they finally reached the store, Alice grabbed Ciel's hand once more and pulled him through to the back of the room. There were coats lining the walls and on the racks, but one stood out to her the most. She dropped Ciel's hand. It was a black leather coat with fur lining on the inside. She looked at the price and was shocked at how much it cost.

'Wow." she thought. 'I wouldn't be able to get that much money in three years.' She began to walk away.

"Wait." Ciel grabbed her hand back making her stomach flip. "Don't you like that one?"

"Well, yeah, but it cost way too much. Too much for a coat that is." Alice said sadly.

"I'll buy it." Ciel said to the man behind the counter.

Alice was shocked. "What? No! I can't let you do that! It's way too much!"

"Nonsense." Ciel said. "You need a new one, mine doesn't fit you. Besides, it's not a big deal."

Alice turned red again. She didn't like being so helpless that she couldn't even buy a new coat for herself. But she didn't see the point in arguing. He seemed to have already made up his mind.

"Thank you." she told Ciel, her blush deepening.

"It's no big deal." he said blushing lightly.

He handed the cashier the money and he grabbed the box that the coat was placed in.

Alice reached for the box. "Don't worry. I got it." Ciel said, lifting the box under one arm.

Alice nodded a thank you, and the two walked out of the store, with Sebastian close behind, holding back a smile.

* * *

**There you go! Hope you like it so far, I don't think it's to good or bad, but hey, what should I care? It's only my first. Anyway, review please!


	4. The Game

'I can't get out. I can't breathe. There is too much smoke. I'm going to die.'

"RUN ALICE. GO!"

"DAD! NO!" Alice screamed and sat up. She had been lying in bed, and awoke with a start.

Panting, she climbed out of the bed and ran to the bathroom. She went to the sink and slashed cool water on her face. Her clothes were drenched in sweat.

'I haven't slept in days.' Alice thought. 'I'm so tired. I wish that these nightmares would stop.' she splashed her face again. 'Mom, Dad, Kyle, Calvin. I miss you.' Alice started crying. She was tired and depressed. She was gratefully for everything she had now, but she wished she could return to her old life.

'I need to get out of these clothes.' She thought to herself once she stopped crying. 'And a cool bath might help calm me down.'

Alice grabbed a new night shirt and a towel and went to the baths. When she got there she was surprised to see Ciel.

'What is he doing at the bath at this hour? Doesn't he sleep?' she thought to herself.

He was sitting in the water reading some book that's title she couldn't make out. She was about to leave when he closed the book and turned and reached for his towel. He still wasn't facing her but she could see most of his back. Alice saw a mark- no a scar- on the right side of the mid-section of his back. It looked like an emblem of something. Alice though she had seen too much so she raced back to her room. Plus, she really didn't want to see anything she wasn't supposed to. She lay down on her bed and tried to go back to sleep, but her mind kept racing. Who exactly was this boy? And why did he have a crest branded onto his back. Alice couldn't put her mind to ease. She tried to stop thinking of Ciel, but found herself thinking of her family. She really did miss them. She closed her eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to kill the people who caused her so much pain. Finally she fell back asleep and before she knew it, it was morning.

Alice opened her eyes, 'I wonder what time it is.', she thought to herself, rubbing her eyes. Suddenly she remembered last night, and what she had seen. She tried to put it out of her mind but she couldn't seem to get rid of the picture of Ciel's back and that scar.

"Forget about it. It is none of your business Alice." she scolded herself. She got dresses and was about to leave when Sebastian knocked on her door and walked in.

"Good Morning Miss Knight. Good to see that you are already awake." he said with a smile.

"Sebastian, you can call me Alice, you know. No need to be formal." Alice said with a grin.

"As you wish, Alice. The young master wished for me to inform you that breakfast shall be served in the main dining room, and that he a matter he wishes to discuss with you.", said Sebastian.

Alice's heart stopped for a moment. 'What could that matter be? Have I done something wrong? Oh no! What if he saw me last night?'

"Thank You Sebastian. I will be down shortly." Alice replied.

Sebastian bowed and made his way down stairs. Alice looked in the mirror. Today she had chosen a pair of black pants, with a grey button up shirt, and the pair of sneakers, which she had taken a liking to. She tied her hair back with the silver ribbon. She brushed her teeth and made her way down stairs. When she got to the doorway of the dining room, she stopped. Alice realized that she was nervous. She was curious as to what Ciel wanted to talk to her about, and was scared that he had seen her last night.

'No use worrying now.' she thought. 'I can't avoid him, after all I do live here now.'

She continued her way in and looked around. She was still amazed by the size of the room, and all of its decorations. Alice walked up to the table, her heart starting to race a little. She saw Ciel sitting in his normal position; one hand on his chin, with a newspaper in the other. Today he was wearing a black button up shirt with black pants. A silver bow hung around his neck. Once again the vibrancy of his eye caught her attention, and for the first time, she realized she was curious as to what was under that black eye patch of his.

"Good Morning," she said as happily as she could. "Sleep well?"

He looked up at her and put down the paper. Alice was interested as to why he read it every day, even though he never left the manor.

"Good morning, and yes, you?" he asked her.

Alice wanted to say, "No, actually, I dreamed about a horrible fire and my dying father, then saw you in the bath." But she said, "Like a baby."

She pulled the chair out and sat down. Ciel looked at her for a long time, then when she was about to say something he looked away and back his paper.

'I wonder what that was about.' she wondered. 'Oh, well.'

She cleared her throat. "Oh yeah, Sebastian said that you had something you wanted to talk to me about. What is it? Is everything alright?" she asked him, her heart racing even more.

'He saw me. I know it. Now I'm in trouble. What should I say? What should I do?' she said in her head.

"Oh right. I almost forgot. You'll never believe what I found!" he exclaimed.

Alice let go of the breath she had been holding.

"Oh? What is it?" she asked, curious at what got the boy so excited.

"Well." he started "This is if you want to go too." he said looking at her. "That town we went to yesterday, well, it's having a fair. And I thought since we didn't have anything to do today-"

"Ok!" said Alice, almost jumping out of her seat and surprising the earl. She hadn't been to a fair in such a long time. She knew that it was going to happen for a while know, but ever since she left her home, she hadn't thought about it. "I forgot about it! My family was planning on going and then...", she trailed off. Ciel eyed her suspiciously. He wanted to know what was going to be said at the end of that sentence. But she didn't continue it. Instead she said, "I love fairs. I can't wait. Thanks for suggesting it."

"Sure." he replied. "But it doesn't start until dusk, so we'll have to find something else to do while we wait."

Alice thought about it. "Do you know any good games?" she asked.

Ciel thought for a while, and then said, "Do you know how to play chess?"

Alice didn't know, but she had always wanted to learn. She just never had the time, or the actual game to learn with. "No I don't.", she said embarrassed. Ciel looked disappointed. "But, I'd love to learn how." she added.

Ciel looked up. "You want me to teach you?"

Alice looked at him. "Sure! I mean, if you want." she said, blushing slightly.

"Ok," Ciel said. "I'll teach you. It will take a while though, just to warn you."

"That's fine." Alice said with a smile. "We have all day."

After they had finished breakfast, Ciel took Alice to his study, and brought out his chess board. He quickly set up the pieces and Alice was in awe. She had only seen the one that her neighbor used to have when she was little, and that was nothing compared to this one. The one her neighbor had was homemade and falling apart. The one that Ciel had was solid wood with handmade glass pieces. It was in perfect condition. Alice picked up one of the pieces and was surprised at how heavy it was. She carefully put it down, making sure she didn't drop it.

"Wow.", she said, admiring the board. "This is really nice. I've only ever seen my neighbor's, and his was falling apart and ruined."

He looked up at her, analyzing the look on her face. He came to decide that it was a mix of excitement and curiosity. "What? Oh. Thanks." he said looking down. "It's a family heirloom. It was passed down from my great grandfather, to my grandfather, to my father, to me. It's very old. I'm surprised it held together this long."

"Wow!" Alice said. "It's that old? That's so cool!"

The earl looked back up at her and felt a strange sensation in his chest. He had never met a girl who was so enthralled to play chess. Not even Elizabeth liked to. She may have tried to show interest in it so that she could spend time with Ciel, but never because she actually wanted to. Alice was different though, she was admiring the pieces as if she had never seen anything like them. Alice looked up at him. When they made eye contact, her stomach got butterflies. She quickly looked away and she could feel a blush growing across her face, even though she didn't know why. The earl smirked and cleared his throat.

"Ok.", he started. "So the object of the game is to capture the other player's King by moving the other pieces. This is the King." picking up the tiny glass figure. "It can only move one square at a time." he put the king down and picked up the queen. "This is the queen. It can move as far in any direction as long as nothing blocks its way."

As he explain the rest of the pieces, Alice could feel herself growing more and more interested in what he had to say. When they finally started playing, Ciel helped her out whenever she couldn't figure out what to move. Alice eventually began to understand which pieces moved where, and how to win. They had played for several hours straight, with Ciel teaching her as they went, and she didn't mind. She was having fun and she could tell that he was too. The last game they played Alice was down to her knight, queen, king, and two pawns. She was sure she was going to lose when she found a way to put Ciel's king into checkmate, by trapping it in the corner.

"I can't believe I lost." he said shocked. "You're really good for a beginner."

Alice laughed. "And you not to bad yourself." she said with a smile. "Do you want to play again?" she added eagerly.

Ciel stood up. "As much as I would, we have to get ready. It is almost time for us to leave for the fair."

Alice stood up too. "Oh! Right! I almost forgot about it!" Alice was so sucked into the game they had been playing; she didn't even realize how late it had gotten. "I should go get my coat." With that she raced off to her room. When she had arrived there she plopped down on her bed and sighed. She hadn't had this much fun in ages. Alice began to notice that the more she was with Ciel, the more she forgot about her troubles. She liked Ciel and everything about him, the way he so graciously took her into his home, how he was so nice to her, how they got along, and most of all his eyes. Even though she could only see one, Alice found herself searching for that vibrant blue in everything she looked at, but nothing seemed to match. She noticed a faint, odd feeling growing in her stomach, Alice didn't know what it was, but she liked it.

'What am I thinking?' she yelled at herself in her mind. 'I can't like him, he doesn't even know me, and he wouldn't like me back. And besides, I'm just here to keep him entertained, right? I am just his guest.'

Just then there were two knocks on her door. "Come in.", she said. Sebastian walked in; in his hand he carried a small package with black lace on it. "The Young Master wished for me to retrieve you and give you this." he stated. He handed her the small package. Alice took the package and layed it down on her bed. She began to undo the lace. When she opened the package she found a neatly made, soft, warm scarf with the Phantom hive crest sewn on its end.

'This is nice. It'll be nice for tonight', she thought. 'With how cold it's going to be.'

She looked back at Sebastian, who looked as if he was going to laugh. She wondered why, but brushed it off. "Thank you, Sebastian. Let me just grab my coat and I'll come with you."

When they made their way downstairs, Alice tied the scarf around her neck, loosely, but tight enough to stay warm. She followed behind Sebastian as they walked into the main entry way. Ciel was standing there, looking at his blue ring. He looked up when he heard them coming.

"Nice to see you like the scarf." he said after seeing her wearing it.

"Yes, I love it. Thank you." she replied quietly and with a smile.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready.", replied Alice.

"Ok then, let's go."


	5. The Memories

The fair was huge, there were game booths and concession stands lining the up and down the streets. In the far back there was what looked like a dunk tank, a stage, and a tall Ferris wheel. Alice's eyes got huge, she had never been to a fair this big before. The ones she used to go to were the ones her town held and they didn't have much to do. She was so excited to go and explore the maze of booths.

"Come on!" she yelled at Ciel. "I can't wait any longer!

"Alright, let's go." Ciel said to Sebastian. Alice reached for his hand, but his pulled away. Instead he stuck his arm out to her. "How about not crushing my fingers this time?" he said, smiling.

Alice turned red. "Ok", she replied, slightly embarrassed. She looped her arm through his. For some reason, she could feel that strange butterfly sensation again. She liked holding Ciel's arm, and just being close to him in general, though she wasn't quite sure why.

They began to walk towards the fair. Behind them, Sebastian followed quietly, but Alice thought she had heard him stifle a laugh when Ciel had offered him arm. Alice ignored it, was it really so strange for Ciel to be acting like this? She thought he was just trying to be nice. They headed toward the entrance and paid for their tickets.

"So what do you want to first?" she asked eagerly. Just then both her and Ciel's stomachs let out growls, out account that they had skipped lunch so they could continue their chess games. They looked at each other and they both turned pink. Ciel gave a small smile and Alice began to laugh, "I guess the food booth first right?" she suggested.

"Sure.", he said. "How about tea?

"That sounds good; besides, I think it will help me from freezing." She said with a small shiver. Ciel tightened his arm around her's, pulling her closer. Alice snuggled right against his side, placed her other hand on his arm. Ciel looked down out of the corner of his eye, and felt the same feeling in his chest as before. He put his other hand in his pocket, and started walking.

They walked around until they came to one of the few food booths that actually sold tea. They ordered two cups of some unknown brand, and a small bag of scones. Sebastian dealt with the cashier while Alice and Ciel found a table set up behind the booth. The table was placed next to a small fire, and they unfroze themselves. Alice picked up her cup and took a long drink, the tea was warm going down her throat, and the scones tasted heavenly. Alice offered Sebastian one, but he politely refused. Soon the entire bag was gone.

"Wow," she said. "This tea is really good, and so are the scones." she paused, remembering when her father would buy fresh one for her and her brothers and she gave a small smile. "I used to eat them with my father when I was little, and when we could afford them." Alice began to feel depressed again. She wanted more than anything to be with her father again. She missed her mother and brothers terribly too, but she was always the closest to her father and did everything with him. She felt tears well up in her eyes again, and looked away from Ciel. 'He can't see me like this.' she thought.

"Alice?" he asked. "You ok?" he always noticed the sad look on her face when she talked about her family or her past, and he didn't like that. For the first time he actually felt worried for someone. It was strange; he hadn't felt like this in a long time, and what was even stranger was the odd light, airy feeling he had in his stomach whenever he looked at her. He didn't understand it.

Alice looked back at him suddenly and quickly blinked away the tears. "Of course." she said turning on the seat. She smiled. "Come on," she said standing up. "Let's go look at the other things, I wonder what else is here."

"Alright.", he said has he too stood up. He brushed down his clothes for any remaining crumbs and stuck his arm out again. This time, Alice didn't hesitate to loop her arm through, but that odd butterfly feeling appeared again.

They walked around for a while, admiring all of the neat little items people had made to sell here and there. They walked past a jewelry booth, and Alice stopped dead in her tracks, jerking Ciel back. "Alice?" he asked. She released his arm and slowly walked over to the window, and saw the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was a silver chain with a magnificent blue stone attached to it. It resembled the color of Ciel's very blue eyes, and she immediately fell in love with it. She had been searching for a color like that since she met him, and she finally found it. However, it didn't occur to her until she looked at the price that the thing cost a fortune.

'Why would anyone price something so high at a fair?' she thought disappointed.

"What is it?" she heard Ciel say behind her. He walked up and saw what she was looking at. He looked down at his ring. The resemblance was remarkable; he had never seen another stone that even came close to matching the color of his family's ring. This had to be the first time he had ever seen anything like it.

"It's nothing." Alice replied quietly, turning away. "It was just so pretty that I had to look. It looks like your ring. Come on. Let's go." she began to walk away.

Ciel turned to Sebastian and ordered him something. Sebastian nodded, and when his master turned his back, the butler smiled a huge smile and snickered to himself. He turned to the booth and walked over to it. When Ciel caught up to Alice, he grabbed her by the arm. She turned and looked at him startled. When they made eye contact, Ciel and Alice both got that butterflies feeling again. He had never noticed to unique shade of grey her eyes were. They were like dim shadows the sun caused just before dawn. Alice noticed his perfectly clear skin, and her hand almost shot up to caress it. She snapped back into reality and blinked, and Ciel cleared his throat. "So, uh, what do you want to do next?" he asked her, letting go of her coat sleeve.

"What?" she asked, still slightly dazed. "Oh, yeah, well," she paused and looked around. "We could go on that." she said, pointing upwards.

Ciel followed her hand. When he saw what she had been pointing at he agreed. "Ok. Sure, let's go on that." He held out his arm once more, and she looped hers through. When they got to the Ferris wheel, he helped Alice onto seat. When she had her back turned, Sebastian smoothly appeared and handed Ciel a small package. Ciel nodded, and Sebastian disappeared again. Ciel climbed into the seat and sat down next to her, and brought the guard bar down. The ride began to move, and when they reached the top it stopped, waiting for more people to ride.

Alice was in awe, she had never seen anything like this before; the view was incredible. "Whoa.", was all that she could manage to say.

Ciel looked at her. The look she had on her face was funny; it was a mix between amazement and happiness. Somewhere inside of his demon chest, Ciel felt- well, happy. He knew that he loved to see her look completely happy, and that was not an often thing. Of course she smiled all the time, but her smile was always missing something, and that was joy. The thought that coming here made her happy, made him happy, and for the first time in a long time he smiled a true smile. He gently touched her arm, and Alice turned to look at him, with a huge smile on her face. Ciel's butterflies grew larger.

"Yeah?" she asked. Seeing the smile -a real smile- on his face gave her a feeling she had never felt before. It wasn't only butterflies, but a mix between that and something else. They looked at each other. Ciel was admiring the amazing shad of silver grey eyes she had, and Alice was entranced on his beautiful blue eyes; well, eye.

Ciel cleared his throat, and took his hand off her arm, still looking her in the eye. "Alice," he paused, his new found smile beginning to fade from his face. "Why can't you go back to your hometown?"

Alice's heart stopped and her smile disappeared. She stayed silent for a while and looked into the distance, toying with loose strings on her scarf.

Ciel looked away. "If you don't want to tell me-"

"No.", she said, cutting him off. "I need to, you should know." She looked at him, and he looked back up at her. She took a deep breath.

"Ok, I'm from a small town called Ignus; it's not too far from here actually. Anyway, I lived with my parents, and my two younger brothers. We lived in a small house on the edge of town, and my father worked at the large water storage/cleaning center, where the town's water was kept and purified. He was the manager in charge of the cleaning of the water, and taking the bi-weekly stock. One night," Alice paused, and regained her confidence. "He had to work late to take count of the water they had or whatever it was, and it was late, so he was the only one working in his section of the building. So to finish that night, he went to check the last water bin, or whatever it's called, when he heard arguing coming from the center's owner's office. The owner was always the last one to leave, so my father didn't think too much about it, but then, he started to hear shouting. So he went and listened outside of his door and found out that he was talking to the town's new mayor. The mayor was only recently elected, and he only won the campaign because his competitor was in an accident, causing him to not be able to run anymore. Anyway, the mayor was yelling at the owner to pump water through to somewhere, and the owner was saying no. My father, didn't know what they were talking about so he stayed to listened, and ended up finding out that one of the main wells, that the town had put a severe amount of money into digging, had hit a pool of toxic chemicals that were left over from one of our the science buildings. The building was falling apart, and no one had been there in ages, so it had to be shut down. No one must have cleaned it out, so all of the old experiments and tools were still in there. The chemicals must have gotten into the ground, and formed pockets. Anyway, the mayor decide he didn't want to put any more money into digging another one, so he just wanted to get rid of the visible debris in the water. My father's boss was completely objecting it at first, but the mayor must have said something, because then my dad said it got really quiet. Then he heard him agree, and my father went to leave. But he accidently knocked over one of the shelves against the wall outside the door. The mayor heard the noise and came out with the owner. My father tried to run, and he must have thought he hadn't been seen by them so he ran home. So, he came home and told me to go to bed. I had never seen him looked so panicked before so I decided to wait outside the door to the kitchen and eavesdrop while he told my mother everything that had happened that night. Then all of the sudden smoke started to pour out from under the front door."

Alice could feel tears running down her face. Ciel didn't know what to do, so he sat there in silence.

"My mother saw it first I ran out and went over to them. The mayor must have told the sheriff to burn our house down, because I saw him riding away on a horse when I looked out the window, and he had something that looked like a torch or something in his hands. But then my mother-"

Alice was beginning to cry harder and harder and was growing angrier by the second. Her hands dropped to her pants and she clenched them in fists.

"My mother ran to get my brothers, but when she got to the top of our stairs that went to their room-" Alice took a shaky breath and looked down, her hair hiding her face; she clenched her pants in tight fists. "The roof collapsed. Trapping her, or killing her; I really don't know. Then the ceiling above my brothers' room collapsed too; they didn't even have a chance to escape. My father ran over to the stairs and tried to get to my mother and brothers, but by then most of the house was on fire, and the roof was getting weaker. The -"

Alice was crying so hard her stomach was hurting. Ciel was looking at her with a blank face, he sat there, waiting for her to finish. She took a small breath.

"Then most of the roof collapsed. One of the beams caught on fire and gave out and it landed right on his chest. It stabbed him right through, he couldn't move, and I couldn't help him. I watch my father die right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything about it! Before he died he told me to run. To get out of this town and never come back."

Alice's stomach felt like it was going to fall out and her heart was going to die. Ciel still sat there, waiting patiently for her to finish; a feeling of severe anger growing inside him.

"So I ran. I ran away from the town. From my home. From my family. I ran for 3 days, only stopping when I needed to. I was starving, and dirty, and tired. That's when I came to your manor." Alice looked up at Ciel. Her cheeks were red and her eyes too. She was crying hard, harder than she ever did before. "Thank you for letting me into your home, Ciel. You saved my life." she sobbed with a small smile.

Ciel looked at her for a long while, his anger rising with every tear that dropped from her beautiful face. He reached his arms out and pulled her to him. He wrapped his arms tight around her and she buried her face in his chest. He still didn't say anything while she cried. Alice needed this. She needed someone to hold her and just let her let all of her emotions pour out. Ciel sat there with one hand on her back and his other on the back of her head. When she finally stopped crying, she sat up and wiped her eyes nose, looking off into the distance. Alice sniffed, and took a few breaths. They weren't at the top anymore of the ferris wheel anymore, and Alice hadn't even realized they were moving until a moment ago.

"I want nothing more than to avenge my family and give the mayor what he deserves. I don't have a bloodlust, but I do want revenge. He took my family and my life away from me and I want his life to burn just like mine did."

She sat there in silence. Ciel looked at her and said finally, "I'll help you." It wasn't so much as a suggestion, as it was a statement. Alice's eyes snapped to his.

She looked at him with confusion. "What?" she said softly, unable to process what he had just said to her.

"I'll help you. My parents were killed too when I was younger; our house was burned down. Someone tried to murder my family too, Alice, we aren't that different, I know how you feel. So I'll help you. I'll help you kill the mayor."

Alice stared at him. She didn't know what to say to the boy who just offered to help her commit murder and get her revenge, and she was surprised he opened up so freely about his past. Instead, a smile grew across her face that was larger than any other and Alice jumped across the seat and hugged him in a tight embrace. Ciel hesitated, but then hugged her back.

"Thank you. For everything", she whispered, slightly muffled by his coat.

She reluctantly let go of him and sat back, a smile still stuck on her face.

"Oh right, I almost forgot." Ciel said quickly, reaching into his pocket and handing her a small box. "Here."

"Huh? What's this?" she asked him.

"Open it."

Alice unwrapped the small box from its paper and took of the top. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth, she couldn't believe her eyes. Alice pulled the silver chain and blue stone from the box and stared at it. "Oh my god." she said quietly. Alice couldn't believe what she had in her hands; the blue stone was cradled gently in her palm. "Ciel?" she croaked.

Ciel watched her; happy with the reaction she had given. "I saw how you looked at it earlier, and I thought that, well…"

Alice hugged him once more. "Thank you. So much." she sat back up. "Could you?" said as she handed him the necklace and turned around.

Ciel took the chain and unconnected the clip. Alice lifted her hair and he put it on her. She let her hair go and admired the stone. She loved everything about it; the delicacy of it, the color; definitely the color. Because that color resembled that of the boy who would help her regain her dignity; the boy who saved her life.


	6. The Background

"Dad? Dad, where are you? I can't find you dad! DAD!" Alice jolted awake.

'What was that?' she thought, pushing the covers off of her legs and making her way to the bathroom.

Alice had never had that dream before. She dreamt that she was stuck in her burning house, but no one was there with her. She couldn't find her parents or brothers. Just the thought of it made her shiver. She understood that she was still upset, sad, and angry about what had happened to her and her family, but why the nightmares. Why wouldn't they stop?

She came out of the bathroom and looked in the mirror. 'Am I still the same person as I was before?' she asked herself. 'I actually want to kill someone; a living human being.' She shook her head. 'Don't be ridiculous.' she thought. 'Of course I am. I am still Alice. Even if I may be alone, and you're angry and broken, doesn't mean that I'm not me.'

Alice walked over to her bed. She laid down on her back and closed her eyes and grabbed her necklace. For some reason an image of Ciel popped into her head. It was of him on the ferris wheel yesterday night. It gave her goose bumps the way he looked at her, not saying a word, but saying everything at the same time. His dark, blue hair, his ring which matched her new necklace, his eyes, and the way he hugged her. Thinking of that made her stomach flip. She felt safe and calm in his arms, and as if she didn't have anything to worry about. She liked Ciel, she liked him alot.

'What am I thinking?' she thought to herself. 'I can't like him. We may be similar, but we are still very different. He would never like me back.' Alice rolled on her stomach and sighed. 'I wonder what time it is.' She got up and walked over to the window and opened the curtains. She could see the beginning of dawn, and the sun rising just over the hills in the distance. She climbed onto the windowsill and brought her knees to her chest. Alice had never seen anything so beautiful, the way that the sun gently cast light on the large distance between it and the ground made her feel calm.

Ciel moved towards the window, looking out he could see the break of dawn. Since he had become a demon he hadn't slept once. It was the one thing he missed about being human. Ciel had enjoyed the dreams where he could be anything or do anything he wanted. Alice was lucky she didn't have to live in reality all the time, it was really quite depressing. But, she had a chance to escape, to be care free. Looking out the window he saw the different shade of grey that looked like Alice's eyes; he had never seen anything like them before. He had never seen anyone like her before; the way her eyes reflected the light in everything was beautiful; the way her hair shined and flowed effortlessly was flawless; and her mental strength was beyond belief. Just by looking at her he would have never had guessed that she would be carrying such a memory. Her spirit and soul both beamed so brightly it almost blinded Ciel. He liked Alice, she was different.

'I don't understand this feeling.' he thought. 'I never felt like this before. I can't like her. With my circumstances I'll surely out live her, I wouldn't be able to stand that. Besides, she would never like me to begin with if she found out what I was.'

'If I talk to him...' Alice thought.

"If I tell her what I am..." Ciel said.

"What would he think of me?"

"What would she do?"

Alice went to her bed and Ciel sat down in his chair, both waiting for morning to come. Ciel looked at his ring, and Alice curled up under her covers and dozed back to sleep, holding her necklace.

Alice woke up and stretched. 'Uggh. What time is it?' she wondered, as she got up and out of bed and went to change. Today she decided to where a black button up shirt, with a waistcoat that came with it. Alice put on a black pair of pants and tied her hair back with the silver ribbon. She put on her sneakers and headed downstairs, where she almost knocked over a young, blonde haired man with a silver pot and what looked like sticks of dynamite.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she said helping him regain his balance.

"Oi!" he yelled. "Watch where you're going you bloody-", he said looking down at. "Hey! It's you! I'm sorry. It's nice to finally meet you when you're conscious." he said with a smile.

"Oh! You're the cook aren't you?" she asked. "Are you the one who made me that tea?"

"Yup, that was me.", he said proudly. "The name's Bardroy, but you can call me Bard."

"Ok, Bard, I'm Alice Knight, you can call me Alice. Thanks for the tea; by the way, it was delicious."

"Welcome. Well, I have to go get this stew ready for dinner tonight. Sebastian told me not to help, but who's he? I'm the chef around here! So, I'm gonna make it me special way". He said, gesturing to the dynamite.

Alice wondered what exactly he was going to do with the explosive, but didn't question his motives. "Alright, goodbye, it was nice meeting you!" she said as she walked toward the dining room.

"See ya!"

'What an interesting man. I wonder why I didn't meet him earlier.' Alice thought.

As she entered the dining room she saw Ciel sitting in his usual position, but with a cup of tea instead of newspaper in his hand. He looked up at her.

"Good Morning." he said as he set the cup down.

"'Morning." Alice said with a yawn. She didn't really sleep last night and man, was she paying for it.

"Tired?" he asked.

"Just a little." she said, pulling out her chair and sitting down. Sebastian came over and poured her a cup of tea. "Thank you.".

"So.", said Ciel. "I think we'd better discuss what our plans are about that mayor of yours." he said, getting straight to the point.

"What?" Alice said. "Oh, right. Well we should, um..." Thinking about it, she had never planned an attack before, so she didn't really know where to start. Plus, Ciel's forwardness caught her off guard.

Ciel saw that she had no ideas, so he spoke instead. "We should start by figuring out when we are planning to do this."

"Oh. Good idea." Alice said. "What about three days from now; Sunday, right? Sundays are when he is home and working on the bills for law that are given to him.

"Ok," Ciel said. "In three days' time. What sort of security does he have around his home? And is there anything else we should be aware of?"

Alice thought about this. "I know he has several men guarding his house, and maybe some living in the houses next to him, but that might just be a rumor.", She said, realizing how difficult this was going to be. "Oh, and there's security at the edge of town. There are normally officers there, and they check the carriages."

"That shouldn't be a problem, you said only the sheriff could have seen you, correct?" Alice nodded. "As for the other men, I'll Have Sebastian deal them while we get into the mayor's house. That way you can make sure he remembers you." he said with an odd, angered tone.

Alice liked this idea. She wanted the mayor to see that she was still alive. She wanted him to realize he had failed had killing her. But most of all, she wanted him to know he was going to die.

"Alright," she said "But can Sebastian really take care of those men?".

Just then, Sebastian appeared with breakfast and having heard her, said, "If I couldn't preform such a simple task, then what kind of a butler would I be?"

Alice laughed. "I like your confidence. If you say you can, I guess I'll have no choice but to believe you." she said with a smile.

Sebastian looked at her and smile. He served them their breakfast, then bowed and left. 'I wonder how he will do that.' she said in her head. 'Oh well, better not question him.'

She looked down at her plate. Alice smiled at the perfectly cooked egg and fresh bacon. She loved the food she ate here, it was always so delicious.

Alice paused and looked down. "Thank you, Ciel. What you're doing is wonderful. I'll owe you forever." Alice said as she blushed slightly.

"No, don't thank me, Alice. You've made my life much more interesting, so we are even. You don't owe me anything." he said, his cheeks pink too. Alice shivered when he said her name. The way he said it gave her chills; the good kind.

They sat in silence while they ate. 'Why is he doing this for me?' Alice thought. 'It can't be just because I made his life more interesting. Can it?'

Alice set down her silverware and looked up at him. Even eating, he still had a sort of grace to himself. 'Stop it.', Alice scolded herself.

She cleared her throat. "So, what do you want to do today?", she said to break the silence.

He looked up. "Well actually," he started. "I have some business to tend to. I'll be leaving after breakfast."

"Oh?" Alice looked at him surprised. She thought that the earl never left the manor unless she was taking him somewhere. "What might that be?"

Ciel took a moment, which Alice thought was suspicious. "Just some business matters that need taken care of. Nothing exciting. I would ask you to come along, but you would be terribly bored." He said, not looking her in the eye. Ciel hated having to lie to her, but this was for her own good.

"Oh. Ok." Alice was left feeling a little disappointed, although she wasn't sure why. 'If he didn't want me to go, he could have just said it.', she thought, a little more coldly than she should have. 'Besides, I suppose he doesn't have to tell me everything, I've only been here for almost a week.'

"I'll be back before dinner. When you get hungry, just go to Bard, he'll make you lunch." Ciel said, standing up and walking towards the door. Alice stared at his back. She had never noticed how lean his body was built. Sure, it was normal _sized_ for a 14 year old, but it looked slightly toned. Alice got goose bumps, and forced herself to stop staring. Ciel turned around just as she looked down. "Oh, and I apologize if your lunch may or may not be the most well tasting. Bard has a very annoying habit of charring things to a crisp. Just make sure you watch him as he cooks, he has a tendency to burn down the kitchen."

With that Ciel said his goodbye, and he and Sebastian left. Alice wasn't entirely sure what to do now that she didn't have anyone to entertain, so she decided to explore the manor. She hadn't ventured very much on account she didn't really know her way around. Alice wondered the halls and stair ways until she came to a door to the wash room. Behind the door she could hear someone singing something about, what she thought was "Sebastian". She knocked on the door and walked in. The maid she had met a few days previous, Mey-Rin, was standing with a wash board in her hand and one of what looked like Sebastian's shirts.

"Oh! Good Morning!" she shrieked, almost dropping the board. "How are you Miss?

"Good Morning." Alice said smiling. "I'm good, thank you. You?"

"Very good! Very good indeed!" she shouted once more. "Do you need something Miss? Can I get you anything?"

"Oh, no, I was just looking around when I heard you singing." Alice said smirking.

"Oh! You heard me?! It's not what you think, Miss!" she squealed as she dropped the board and shirt, putting up her hands. The board fell with a clatter, and Alice picked the two up.

She laughed. "It's ok. I won't say anything." she handed her back the board. "And you can just call me Alice."

"Yes, Alice. Thank you." Alice made her way to the door.

"Ok then. Good bye." she said as she headed down the hall.

As she neared the corner, Alice heard a loud bang, and several crashes. She looked out the window. She could see the gardener, Finny, moving large stones in the front of the manor, and decided to visit him next. As she made her way down stair, she became lost. She couldn't remember how she had gotten to this hallway, or where to exit at. Just then she heard what sounded like an explosion. Alice ran towards the sound and found a door that had been scorched and blown to bits, and a room that was equally as bad. She found the cook, Bard, sitting on the floor, covered in black soot. He looked up at Alice and put his hand on his head.

"Erm, I thought it would cook faster if I, you know, blew it up.", he said embarrassed.

Alice was amazed. "How did you think dynamite would cook stew faster?", she asked, inspecting the damage he had done to the kitchen, as well as the thick, creamy liquid plastered all over the walls.

"Well, I used to be in the military, and if I didn't cook and eat fast I didn't get to eat at all. So I try to do things quickly now. And now, Sebastian's going to have my head when he sees this." Bard replied.

"Oh?" Alice said, wondering when he was in the military. She smiled, "Don't worry. I'll help you clean it up."

"Thanks! You're a pretty decent girl, you are." he smiled.

Alice helped him remove all of the unfixable things in the room, and cleaned up the stew. Bard wiped the black soot off everything, using more than 5 towels to finish the job. Alice helped him move the destroyed table outside into the garbage, and then helped him bring up a new one. Sebastian had ordered more than one as to be prepared for the next time Bard blew something up.

"Well, that looks like it all. Thanks a bunch! You saved my neck!" he said, handing her a small box. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. For your help, you can have these. There cookies. I made 'em myself using me flame thrower." he added proudly.

"Oh, thanks." Alice said, eyeing the box, wondering what the cookies ended up looking like.

She said good bye and made her way towards the front of the manor. She opened the box the to see normal looking cookies. Well, mostly normal. Some of them have scorch marks on them, but she didn't mind. Alice walked outside and broke of the charred pieces, feeding them to the random birds that she met on her way to the side of the manor. Alice was surprised to see that she had eaten through the almost entire box, and decide to save a few for Finny.

She closed the box and walked to rest of the way around the extraordinarily large manor. When she did, she finally ran into Finny, who was still moving the rocks he had been earlier. It was cold out there, but Alice didn't want to go all the way back up to her room for her coat. Instead she walked towards Finny. He turned around to pick up another rock and saw her.

"Oh! 'Ello Alice! What are you doing out here? I thought you went with Master Ciel.", he said.

Alice shook her head. "No he went with Sebastian. I stayed here." Alice walked closer to him, the breeze giving her chills.

"Oh, here you go. I brought these for you, Bard made them, so you'll have to take off the burnt parts, but there actually pretty good.", Alice said handing him the last of the cookies.

"Really, for me? Thanks Alice!" he took them from her hand and sat down, shoving one into his mouth an smiling. Alice sat down next to him.

"Finny? What are you doing exactly?" she said looking over at the rocks.

"What? Oh, that? Master Ciel wanted me to get rid of them." he said, muffled by the cookie in his mouth.

"Why would he want you to that?" she asked, wondering as to why the rocks needed to be moved.

"He said something about them being a nuisance, but they have been there ever since the manor was rebuilt."

"Rebuilt?" asked Alice.

"Yeah. Didn't the Young Master tell you before? Well when he was young he lived with his mother and father, who was the old Earl Phantomhive. One day the manor caught on fire and both his parents were killed, and he was thought to be dead too."

"That's right, he did tell me. He told when we were-"Alice stopped, suddenly embarrassed to talk about what happened on the ferris wheel that night. Finny watched her, wait for her to finish. However, Alice decided to change the topic. "So, what happened to him?"

"He disappeared for a while. Around three months went by and he eventually came home. Only he came back with Sebastian and that patch over his eye. That was the story his Aunt told us." Finny said, shoving the last cookie in his mouth.

"With Sebastian? And he has relatives?" Alice asked growing more curious about Ciel's past and what exactly was clouding it. What was even more curious was the fact that Ciel had never before mentioned his relatives. As far as Alice knew, he didn't have any.

"Yeah, with Sebastian, and he had the manor rebuilt out here. Sebastian came to me, Mey-Rin, and Bard one night individually and told us he needed servants to work at the manor, so here we are." He said finishing the cookie. "As for his aunt, she died; killed by Jack the Ripper. The Master doesn't particularly enjoy talking about that, so I wouldn't bring it up if I was you. And you didn't hear it from me!"

"Huh." Alice was growing more and more curious about the young boy every day. 'Who exactly was Ciel Phantomhive. And what isn't he telling me?'

Finny said thank you for the cookies, and went back to work. Alice made her way back to the manor, her head filled with questions about Ciel. Alice was so tired of secrets and hiding, but she couldn't just ask Ciel to tell her everything about him now could she? Alice felt her she stifling a yawn, and decided to lay down for a while. She headed into Ciel's study (which had a large book shelf, that she had taken a great liking to.) to find a good book to fall asleep to. She found one about chess and different strategies, so she curled up on the couch on the far side of the room, and started to read. Alice knew she should have gone back to her room, but softness of his couch was so comfortable that it wasn't long before she started to fall asleep.

Alice dreamed that she was in her house again, and it was burning down and she was trying to get out. She started to run down the hallway to the kitchen, when all of the sudden, the hallway began to stretch as if it was going to go on forever. Alice ran faster and faster but it kept going. Then, she began to hear her name being called by someone.

"Alice.", the voice called. "Alice. Alice! ALICE!"

She turned around and saw her family standing at the end of the hall. "Mom? Dad? Is that you?" She felt herself running towards them, but when she got close enough, she could see their burnt skin, and inhuman looking faces. Her father reached out to grab her and-

"ALICE!"

"NO!" Alice sat up and screamed as she felt two hands placed on her shoulders. She turned and looked up to see Ciel leaning over her with both hands placed on either side of her neck. "Alice! Are you alright?!" he asked with a surprised look on his face.

Alice could feel the sweat dripping down her back and face. "Yeah. Yeah I'm alright." She said sitting up, and putting her head in her hands. She couldn't get the image of her father's burnt hand reaching towards her out of her mind. She could feel the sheet of sweat covering her face and rest of her body. Ciel let go and sat down next to her.

"What happened?" he asked.

"It was just a dream. I'm fine."

"Yeah, some dream." he said sarcastically. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine." she said halfheartedly, but then lifted her head. "When did you get back?" Alice said, remembering that he had gone out this morning.

"Just a bit ago." he said. "I was looking for you and figured you had gone somewhere around the manor, so I came in here and found you asleep. You were tossing, and muttering something, so I tried to wake you up."

"Oh.", she said, her face grew a blush. "Sorry, I was tired and bored so I looked for a book to read, and well, I fell asleep here." she stood up. "I should go clean myself up." Alice added after feeling her sweat soaked shirt.

"Alright.", Ciel said, standing up also. "Dinner should be served soon too. I'll meet you down there."

'Dinner?' thought Alice. 'How long was I asleep for? It was just morning. Wasn't it?'

"See you in a bit." she smiled and walked away, Ciel watching her as she did.

'I'd better hurry,' she thought. 'I don't want to keep him waiting.'

Alice went to her room and grabbed a pair of black shorts and a silver button up shirt. Then, she headed for the bathes. As she made her way to the large room with several wash tubs, she remembered Ciel that night and the strange marking on his back. What was it? Did it have anything to do with those months he was gone? Or was it something else. Alice wish she could ask him about it, but it would be very embarrassing to do so, because he would find out she saw him in the bath.

'Ugh. I hate secrets.' she thought as she turned on the the water. 'I hate telling them, I hate keeping them, and learning them.'

Alice quickly undressed out of her damp clothes and took off her necklace. She slid herself into the warm water and sat there. She closed her eyes for a quick moment and saw her father's dead hand reaching towards her again. She quickly reopened her eyes and decided to wash herself off. The warm water was very relaxing, but she knew she couldn't stay in there for very long. Alice pulled herself out of the bath, wrapped a towel around her body, drained the tub, put her necklace on, and got dressed. She took the towel with her as she headed back to her room passing Ciel's study. As she neared his door she heard talking behind it, and curiosity struck her. She leaned towards the door so she could get a better listen. She heard who she thought was Sebastian, and he was talking to Ciel.

"Young Master, how long do you intend to keep her here? You know what will happen with time, if she is here for too long."

"She doesn't have any other place to go."

"Why, I didn't know you cared for anyone besides yourself."

"Shut up. Besides if she does stay here, she will have to learn eventually."

"You plan to turn her, don't you?"

There was silence for a while. "I'll do what I need to keep us a secret- even if that means turning her."

"Yes, My Lord."

Alice couldn't here very clearly through the thick wood, but she thought she heard someone say they were going to turn something. 'It's none of your business, Alice', she told herself as she walked to her room. 'You don't have anything to do with what they do, or what they talk about.'

When she got to her room, Alice dried her hair the rest of the way. It was still partially damp in the back, but she didn't care. She brushed her hair and retied it with the silver ribbon. Alice sat there, looking at herself in the mirror, wondering what would have happened to her if she hadn't found Phantomhive Manor. She would have most likely been dead a while ago. 'I wonder if finding this manor was a good or bad thing.' she thought. 'Well, I'll find out soon enough. I should head down to dinner, it's getting late.' Alice walked down the stairs to the dining room, where once again she found Ciel sitting behind the table, hand on his chin.

"Sorry if kept you waiting." she said.

Ciel looked at her with a blank expression on his face as she pulled out her chair and sat down. However, his beautiful blue eye was showing a mix of emotions Alice couldn't read. She stared back at him and he still didn't say anything, making her nervous.

"Uh, Ciel?" she asked. "Is everything alright?" he seemed dazed.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine," he said. "Just tired, that's all."

"Alright.", Alice was worried. What was wrong with him, she had never seen him act like this before.

Dinner was silent as the two ate their food and Alice didn't even notice because she was so absorbed into her thoughts.

'The marking on his back, the way he never leaves the manor, how he just left earlier for "business", he talks to no one outside, his right eye. I want to know more about this boy.' she thought. 'Who is he?'


	7. The Decision

'Why would Ciel just let some stranger stay in his manor, when he never leaves it? Why would he take such good care of me, even though I could have left whenever I wanted? I could have easily taken advantage of him and left; I could have even tried to kill him, but he still let me stay here. Why?' Alice was confused, tired, beaten up and broken. She wanted her old, uncomplicated life back, where she could be with her family and old friends. It wasn't that she was ungrateful for what Ciel had done for her, but it was that she felt she didn't deserve it. What had she even done in life to earn such wonderful things?

Alice turned over and curled up in a ball, the covers over her head. She was nervous for the next two day's events; because that was the day she was going to get her revenge.

'Can we really do it?' she thought. 'Can I? I've never killed anyone before, I don't even kill the flies that I find indoors, so what makes me think I can do this?' she turned back over onto her back. 'Stop. I've already said I'll do it, and there's no going back. That man killed my family, he deserves to die.'

When the malice replaced the worry in Alice's thoughts, she figured how great it was going to feel to see his house in flames; not her's. But, for some reason, she couldn't shake that feeling of fear that had been clinging to ever since this evening, when she heard Ciel and Sebastian talking. That conversation gave her an uneasy feeling, and she was slightly put off about it.

Alice's thought slowly faded and finally she began to fall into a deep sleep. She dreamt she was in a white room, with nothing in it. She looked around, confused where she was. As she began walking, she heard what sounded like canons, and slashes of crimson, yellow, and white started to splash all over the walls of the room. Soon every place that was once part of the room became part of her burning house. Alice was standing in her living room, and nobody else was around.

"MOM? DAD? CALVIN? KYLE? WHERE ARE YOU? I CAN'T FIND YOU!" Alice screamed into the burning flames. Just then blood started seeping down the stairs, and her mother's head shown through the collapsed pile that was the roof; its eyes opening. Alice screamed and backed away, just then blood began to seep out from the door to her brothers' room and they too appeared just outside their door. Their bodies were mutilated and their heads were charred, and their eyes began opening too. Alice covered her face; she took another step backwards and stepped in something wet. She looked down to see even more blood pooling around her feet, her father's dead, staked body lying at her feet, he too, opening his eyes.

"Alice? Is that you?" he asked.

"Dad? DAD?" Alice was terrified, how could her dad be alive? She moved towards him.

"Alice? Why didn't you save me?"

Alice backed away. "What?" she felt a wave of guilt and fear run over her. "Dad?"

"Why didn't you save me? Why didn't you save me?! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?"

Just then her mother and brother began screaming the same thing at her. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?! WHY ALICE?! HELP ME ALICE!?"

"STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!" Alice screamed at the top of her lungs. "STOP IT!"

The bodies of her family members began to melt and come together, each of their heads were placed next to one another, and were still screaming at her.

"SAVE ME ALICE! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME? WE COULD HAVE LIVE TOGETHER AGAIN! YOU WERE TOO SELFISH!"

"STOOOOOOOOOOOP!", Alice screamed at the top of her lungs, shooting up in bed. "NO!" she screamed, shaking all over. She began to cry, harder than she did on when she saw her parents and brothers die, harder that she did on the ferris wheel. She pushed the covers off in a quick movement and ran to her door. Alice threw it open and barreled down the hall; she ran all the way to Ciel's room; she was unsure of how she knew her way to his room, but at that moment, she didn't care. She ripped opened his door and found him sitting in bed reading; he looked up at her and his eye widened.

"Alice?! What's-?" he said standing up. Alice couldn't handle it anymore. She ran over to him and collapsed into his arms. He froze for a minute, unsure of what was happening, but then he wrapped his arms around her and sat back down on the bed. She mindlessly climbed up next to him and curled up in the tiniest ball, with her head on his chest and her knees leaning against his leg. She put her arms in close to her chest and pressed in even closer to him. His arm was wrapped around her, pulling her as close as possible. He brought the bed covers over her and sat back. "Was it another dream?" he asked softly, letting her tears soak his chest.

Alice nodded, unable to speak. She buried her face farther and farther into his shirt, and cried and cried. She balled the front of his shirt into fist. He held onto her, holding the back of her head, letting her soak his shirt with tears. Ceil couldn't deny it anymore, he liked Alice- no, he loved her. He loved everything about her. Her looks, her personality, how she trusted him, everything about her was perfect. He held her in his arms the entire time she cried, not moving an inch; he could feel her shaking all over.

Alice sniffed, her nose stuffy, but she could make out the faint smell of Ciel. He smelled wonderful, and she found the smell soothing. She loved how he was so kind to her, how he took care of her, how he held her, and how he saved her. She loved Ciel very much and she couldn't doubt it anymore. Alice cried in his arms, feeling safe, not feeling alone. She pressed her face into his chest and muttered a soft, "Thank you..." very quietly before she began fall asleep, listening to the rhythm of his breathing. After that, she had no bad dreams and she slept peacefully.

Ciel looked down to see if she had fallen back asleep, then laid her down gently, putting her head on his pillow. He leaned down so his mouth was by her ear and whispered in the softest voice, "Thank you, Alice." Then he brought his lips to her cheek, his hair falling slowly to her face. He gave her the softest kiss; so soft, that it was barely one at all. Ciel marveled at the softness of her smooth skin as he looked at her. Alice's mouth twitched up in the slightest of smiles, making Ciel's chest flutter. He brought the covers all of the way up on her and moved to the window. He looked out and saw the night sky, littered with stars, and the moon shining brightly. Two day from now he was going to help the girl he loved kill the man who hurt her. He looked at Alice. Her peaceful face in the moon light gave him goose bumps; he had never felt this way before, about anybody.

Just then, there were two knocks on his door. "Come in.", he said softly, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. Sebastian walked in and looked at Ciel's bed. He tried, which was a hard task, not to laugh out loud.

Ciel still did not turn to look at him, but said, "Did you take care of what I asked you too?"

"Yes Young Master. I gathered the plans we marked yesterday found a rather secluded escape route, as well as an inn to serve as lodgings." He said still glancing over at Alice.

"Good.", he replied. "You will take care of them while she and I deal with the mayor. That bastard deserves everything that's coming. He attempted to claim that the destruction Alice's house was caused by a fire place. What a lie. His whole time as mayor is a lie." he looked at Alice. "A girl loses her family, and a whole town becomes infected with some plague. No doubt that was from the contaminated water he caused." he looked at Sebastian. "Finish the job quickly then prepare a carriage for when we leave."

"Yes, my lord."

Ciel took one last look at the beautiful girl, sound asleep in his bed, and then left the room with Sebastian.

Alice sat up. Where was she?

'Oh right.' she said to herself, remembering last night's events. She pressed her head into her hands. 'Uggh! What am I going to say to him now?' she thought turning red. Alice remembered running into his arms and how she felt falling asleep in them. That's when she got the biggest set of butterflies she had ever felt before. Alice accepted them this time, and climbed out of his bed; she looked around the room. It was much larger than her room, but not as filled. He only had one dresser and a bookshelf, and a door to the bathroom, but nothing else. 'Wow,' she thought. 'It's like he's never in here. Come to think of it, why wasn't he asleep when I came in here last night?" Alice thought, realizing that it was very late when she had barged into his room. 'What is this kid? A vampire?'

Alice opened the door, and snuck out of his room. She walked back to her room and got changed. She put on a black pair of pants, with a black button up shirt. She tied her hair back with the black ribbon also. She put on black socks with her black sneakers. She brushed her hair and looked in the mirror. 'Wow,' she thought. 'Anymore black and I could blend in with the shadows.'

She put the brush down, went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and went down stairs. The whole way down, she was thinking of what she could say to Ciel. 'Thank you for last night? No. I appreciate what you did for me? No. Hey, what about last night huh? What am I thinking? None of those will ever work.' Alice thought, almost running into the door to the dining room door. 'Well, I'd better come up with something.' she thought. She walked in and saw Ciel, who was once again sitting with his hand under his chin. He looked up at her. "Good Morning." he said. "Sleep well?" Alice thought she saw a blush on his face, but she couldn't tell from where she was. She didn't know what to say, and she felt butterflies again. All she could do was nod. He looked back down at his ring. They sat there in silence for a while when Alice felt she had to break the silence.

"Ciel?" she said quietly. He looked back up at her. "Thank you. For last night." she said looking down. She couldn't look at him because her face turned extremely red.

"It's ok, Alice. You don't have to thank me." He said, turning red too. She looked up at him and smiled. That gave Ciel butterflies, he loved her smile.

Just then Sebastian came in and served breakfast. He looked at both of them with their blushes and had to use all of his will power no to laugh out loud. Ciel saw the look on his face and glared at him. Sebastian walked out of the room and they ate in silence. Neither of them knew what to say, so they didn't say anything at all. After breakfast Ciel told Alice to meet him in him study, so that they could discuss what was going to happen to following night.

Alice quietly headed up to his study, and opened the door. Ciel was sitting behind his desk looking at his ring once again. Alice wondered why he did that so frequently, but she dropped it. He looked up and saw Alice and put his hand down. "Come in." he said. "Have a seat." Alice came in, closed the door, and took a seat at the other side of his desk. "So," she said. "What's the plan?"

They talk for quite a while, with Ciel suggesting plans, and Alice telling him where protection was, and what had been blocked off. "Most of the roads surrounding his house are block by police, and you have to have word from the mayor to get past them. And the other roads are blocked by the thick woods surrounding the town." This got Ciel thinking. It got quiet for a while as the two thought hard about what their possible entry option might be, when Ciel spoke up. "Alright, I have it. We walk right in the front door." Alice looked at him stupidly. 'What is he talking about?' she thought. "Huh?" she asked, curious as to how exactly this plan was going to work. Ciel explained everything, and Alice found herself both reeling with excitement, and in total awe of his intuition. Eventually they came to a solid plan that seemed it would work.

After they came to conclude the plan, Alice asked Ciel if he want to play a game of chess. He agreed and they played until lunch time. Sebastian came and got them, and they walked down. On the way Ciel asked about Alice's family. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." he added quickly. "No, it's alright." she replied. Alice thought it would be better to talk about them, than keep it all to herself.

"My father, like I told you, worked at the water center. He was kind man with a big heart towards everyone. Me and him were inseparable, and were always doing stuff together." Ciel and Alice sat down at the long table, but this time Alice sat next to Ciel instead of at the opposite end.

"My mother was a beautiful woman. She had blonde hair and silver eyes like me, but much more beautiful. She was one of the wash ladies for the town, and knew everyone. She was kind and warm, and told a lot of jokes. She would always put me to sleep with one a night, and for some reason it put me to sleep better than any lullaby ever could." Alice smiled as she reminisced about her family, but still felt slightly depressed. Sebastian had now walked in and was serving them their food, which was a large salad, served with fresh baked bread. "Now, my younger brothers, Kyle and Calvin, were six years younger than me, and were always by my side. We got along surprisingly well for siblings, and the neighbors said they were like my shadows. I guess I never really noticed, but I suppose they really were always with me. They too, were close to my father, so they were always doing things with us, too. My family was one of a kind, and I'd never want to change that." Alice could feel the sadness in her chest, but could feel a smile on her face. This was the first time Ciel had seen her smile when she was thinking about her family. "I miss them, but I've come to realized that they are in a better place now and are watching over me. I know it."

Ciel thought about this. Were his parents watching over him, their demon son? _Would_ they watch over him? He would never get the chance to know. As a demon, he was banned from ever setting foot in whatever place was deemed "Heaven", but he didn't care; all he seemed to care about right now was the smile on Alice's face, the happiness in her eyes. To him that's all that mattered.

When they had finished their meal, Ciel glanced at the clock on the wall; it was almost time to leave for Alice's hometown. Ciel asked Alice if she was ready. Alice stood up. "Yes.", she said strongly, realizing that she was more confident in herself than she was before. "I am ready."

Ciel called to his butler, and Sebastian appeared, handing them their coats. Alice pulled her scarf out of the pocket and wrapped it around her neck. They walked to the front entry way; Alice looked at Ciel and he looked back, silently asking her if she were ready. She nodded, and they ventured outside. A cold wind met them and Alice pulled her coat tighter around her small frame. Ciel seemed completely unfazed by the bitterly cold wind, but he had seen Alice shiver. Sebastian went to pull the carriage around, and Alice struggled not to turn to ice. Ciel saw her shiver once again, and he moved closer to her. Alice looked at him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and instinctively pressed against his side. Ciel didn't say anything, but she didn't mind, she didn't really know what to say either. Alice glanced up at him, she hadn't really noticed how he was only an inch taller than her, but seemed to be the perfect height for her to snuggle against. She instantly began to feel warmer, and pressed more against his side; gripping his coat. Ciel put his other hand in his pocket, looked off in the distance, and said quietly, "Are you positive you what to do this?"

Alice looked at him. She stared off into the clouded sky, and took a deep breath. She knew she had to do this; it was just that she didn't know that she could. She released her breath and said strongly. "Yes. I am." With that, Ciel had decide that they he would not question her anymore. He knew Alice was strong, but he didn't want her to have to do anything she didn't want to. He understood her pain; he felt it once to, but he also knew that with revenge comes guilt. I may not seem like it, but Ciel did feel guilty. Not because he had caused someone to die, but because of the numbers of people he caused pain. Even as a demon, he could still feel it. 'Alice could end up differently.' He thought. 'She has no one to hurt, or cause worry. I trust that her strength will pull her through this dark maze, and when she does exit it, she will shine brighter than ever before. Her soul, her mind, and her herself are pure. Nothing could damage that.'

They stood there for another minute or two, waiting for Sebastian. Alice was pressed so close to Ciel, that they looked glued to the side. Ciel didn't mind though, by all means he loved having Alice in his arms. Sebastian arrived and they got into the carriage. Alice gazed out the window, holding her necklace, as Ceil stared at his ring. They heard Sebastian crack the whip and they were off.


	8. The Old Emotion

The ride to her hometown was a stressful and depressing one. All Alice could think about was seeing her old house and facing the memories of that night, and the painful feelings she knew she would have. Thinking about it more, she realized how badly she couldn't wait to see the look on that lying, murderous creep that ruined her life. She just wanted him dead more than anything. Ciel looked at her, surprised. He had never seen her look so malevolent before, and it actually scared him. Ciel studied the girl's face for a long time. Never had he seen such a pretty face look so angry and hateful. Even when she was telling him the story of why she left, she didn't look that mad. Now she just looked determined to obtain her revenge.

The entiire ride was silent, as they both looked out the window at the city in the distance. It was almost time for them to arrive at the town, and Ciel was curious. He wondered how Alice would handle going back there.

When they arrived they were stopped at the city limits and asked what their business was. Alice could here Sebastian explaining that he was looking for a place to stay for him and his children. Just then the door to the carriage opened and an officer looked in. He saw Ciel and Alice and closed the door and gave Sebastian the ok to go on through. As they rode through to James's Inn, Alice was in a daze. It was like Deja Vu', only ten time worse. She could remember everything, over there was the school building, and there was the creek that her and her friends would go in after school. There was the fire house and police station.

'The Chief of Police.', she thought with malice. Part of her hated him, and the other part was thankful. Alice knew that sounded horrible, but, if her house never caught fire that night, Alice would never have met Ciel, and she certainly would have never become as strong as she was today.

As they drove further along, Alice could see that something was not right. "Where is everyone?" she said.

Ciel looked up and out the window. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the street used to be filled with people, even in the dead of winter. So why isn't anybody out now?"

Ciel looked out the window. Did it have to do with the chemicals in the water? What that what the "plague" was?

They continued to drive and eventually reached the inn. Sebastian got down from the coach's seat, and opened the door to the carriage. Ciel got out and helped Alice down. After they were down, they went into the inn and got one room. They had to seem like a normal family, so Sebastian took a room with two beds. When they got in the room, Alice sat down on one of the beds. She remembered this inn from when she was little, and her family stayed here when their roof collapsed from the amount of snow they had gotten that winter. They had stayed in a room with two beds, kind of like this one. Her and her mother slept in one of them and her father and brothers in the other. They stayed there for a few days, on account that it kept snowing. Alice didn't go to school for several days in order to help her father work on the roof.

Alice snapped out of her daydream when she heard the door to their room close shut. She looked up to see that Sebastian had left for some reason.

"Where's he going?" she ask Ciel.

"He's going to inspect the mayor's house and his security." he replied.

"Won't he get caught?" Alice said, regretting it afterwards. She had learned not to underestimate Sebastian; he could do a lot more than Ciel gave him credit for.

"He'll be fine. Besides if he does get caught, which he won't, no one will know who he is. We did just get here after all." he said, without worry. "He'll come back, because I ordered him to."

Alice was confused. 'What did ordering have anything to do with that?' she thought. 'It's his skill that will let him return.'

"Oh, alright." she said quietly. She moved to take of her coat, and stood back up and placed it in the closet. "Do you want me to hang yours too?" she asked Ciel.

He nodded and handed her his coat, and sat down on the opposite bed, looking at his ring again. She hung it up, and walked back over to the bed and plopped down on her back, spreading her arms out. Alice sat up, realizing there were only two beds in the room. "Ciel?" He sat down and looked back up at her. "Hm?"

"How- well where- How are we all going to sleep tonight? There are only two beds." Alice was embarrassed; she didn't want to say she didn't want to sleep in the same bed as Ciel, because by all means she would prefer it. But she was curious, and the way she phrased the question, sounded odd.

"Oh, You'll have a bed to yourself if that's what your worried about." he said looking down, quiet. Alice turned red.

"Oh, no! I'm not worried about it or anything! I just wanted to know because there were three of us and only two beds." she looked down turning even redder than before.

"Well, Sebastian will be keeping guard and watching the mayor." he said looking back up at her.

"But where will he sleep then?" Alice asked.

"Don't worry about it. He'll be fine," he replied.

Alice didn't know what to say. 'Does Sebastian ever sleep to begin with?' she thought. 'Does Ciel for that matter?' Alice had never seen the boy sleep, the time he was in the bath, and last night when Alice had that nightmare, he was awake. What time was that? It surely had to be late at night, because it wasn't even the slightest bit daylight. Alice grew even more curious of the boy, and for some reason it made her like him even more.

Ciel had hoped she wouldn't ask any more questions, he couldn't let her find out what he and Sebastian were. Actually, every one living in the manor, apart from her, were demons. When Ciel had left, after the incident with Alois Trancy, he had travel to the underworld with Sebastian. He grew bored of it there, because it wasn't as interesting as the human world, so he decided to come live back here instead. After he returned, the servants had actually tracked him down, and asked to go with him and Sebastian. They had told him that they didn't know what to do after he left, so they decide to pursue him, and ask that they could still serve him as his loyal servants. He had thought about it and decided to agree, however, he told them what he was. He told them the story of when he met Sebastian and what he was, and to Ciel's surprise, they didn't think he was lying. They had known that Sebastian was different somehow, and this had made as much sense as anything. After, seeing how they reacted, he decided to tell them about what he had become, and how eventually he would out live them. The servants were quiet for a while, and spoke. They had all agreed that there was nothing for them to go back to in their old lives, and asked to be turned to what he was. Ciel was surprised once again, he knew them to be persistent, but this was extremely bold. He talked to Sebastian, and the two of them agreed to do the deed. They turn all three of them that night. When they had awoken, they were just the same as they had been when they were alive; annoying, but useful. All five traveled back to the manor, which the servants had kept exactly the way it was when Ciel left, and moved it out into the woods, by some unknown town off the grid. They lived there for about 10 years now. Although Ciel was technically 23 years old, he was still 13 at heart.

Alice laid back down, thinking hard about Ciel. He was such a strange boy, always dressed in dark colors, always staying in the manor, always hiding something. Alice knew this much, she may not have been the smartest person in the world, but she could see right through him and his secrets. She liked Ciel, but she couldn't stand the secrets he kept, even though she had no right to know what they were. She wished that he would tell her _something_, to trust her at least a little.

"So," she said, still lying down. "We strike at midnight, tomorrow evening. We kill the mayor, and get out of here and head back to the manor. That sounds like something out of a story, doesn't it?"

Ciel looked down. "Yes, it does." he replied. "But, we'll do just that."

Alice Suddenly felt an increased pang of anxiety course through her. She_ did_ want to kill the man who destroyed her life, but she didn't know if she could. 'Can I really take another human being's life away from them?' she thought. 'No, not a human being; a pig, a swine, a liar, and a corrupted maniac. You'll be doing the world a favor by doing this.'

Alice sat up. "So what will be do while we wait?" she asked the boy. He looked back up at her, not giving a reply. "What about old maid? I bet I could beat you this time." she said, trying to break the silence that had been hovering in their room for a while.

Ciel looked at the clock nailed to the wall. "How about another night?" he said. "You should get to bed. We have an eventful day tomorrow; you'll want to have your rest."

Alice was going to protest, but then realized how suddenly tired she felt. She nodded her head. "Yeah, I am feeling pretty tired." she said justifying with a yawn. Ciel got up and helped her undo her bed covers. "What about you?" she asked.

"Hn?" Ciel said looking up at her from across the bed. "Oh, I'm not really that tired." Alice looked at him.

"Ok.", she replied. 'Maybe he is a vampire after all', she thought with a sarcastically.

Alice pulled the sheets back and took of her shoes. She hadn't brought another change of clothes, since they were only going to be here for a day. She climbed into bed, and Ciel pulled the rest of the covers up on her. He paused and looked down at her, and she looked up at him, neither of them speaking. Ciel could hide it anymore, he loved Alice. He didn't know if she did back, but if he didn't do what he was about to, he was going to regret it. As she was absorbed into his insanely blue eye, he was sucked into the pools of grey that so delicately emphasized her beauty. They stared at each other for a while, and Alice could see Ciel's body moving closer. She didn't know what to do, so she laid there, unable to move. Alice wasn't sure what she was feeling and her faced turned pink.

Just when their faces were close enough to the point where Alice could count his long eyelashes, there were two quick knocks on the door. Ciel blinked and stood up straight, his face went pink. Alice turned red too and pulled the covers over her face. Did he just try to kiss her? So does that mean he liked her back? Alice's mind raced. Ciel moved away from the bed and cleared his throat. "Come in." he said with as much confidence as he could, but Alice heard his voice waver.

Sebastian walked in. "I have returned now Young Master. I shall now precede to keep watch. If you should need anything, I'll be outside." he closed the door and left.

There was an awkward silence as the butler was heard walking away. Alice found herself wishing that he'd return, so she would not have to be alone with Ciel, not that she didn't not want to be with him. She slowly pulled back the cover, unable to make eye contact with the earl.

Ciel cleared his throat again and looked away. "Well, you should get to bed." He turned around and a red tint lit his face. What had he just done? He didn't even know if she liked him back, and it wasn't fair to her that he could just kiss her like that if she didn't. He moved towards the small bookshelf placed in the back of the room. Alice watched him as he did so.

Alice could feel her head swimming and her stomach flipping; both with joy and embarrassment. She watched as he looked through the book shelf and pulled out a very thick book; his hair glowing lightly in the dim light and falling over his cheeks as he looked down. He moved towards the arm chair placed in the corner of the room. He moved with an odd swiftness. It was a mix between moving lightly and quickly. Ciel was, by no means, ugly; in fact, he was the most handsome boy Alice had ever seen. He was beautiful inside and out.

'Even his movements are beautiful.' she thought. She turned over and faced away from him. She couldn't look at him because of the bright redness that had grown all over her face. "Good night, Ciel." She said quietly and with a faint smile on her face.

He looked at her, seeing she was facing away from him. His stomach sank. He felt guilty for making her feel uncomfortable, but he had to know if she liked him too. Ciel cursed himself; he didn't know what had come over him. Was it her beautiful face, or her beautiful personality that made her so attractive to him? He couldn't help himself from admiring her long blonde hair scattered all over her back and shoulders; it shining in the low light. He held his gaze, his face still red, and said with a gentle voice, "Good night, Alice."

It didn't take as long as she had thought to fall asleep. Alice's mind had been racing what felt like moments ago, and now she was walking around in a strange dream world. She looked around, it was an amazing sight no doubt, but Alice got a strange hesitant feeling every time she took a step. There was no end to the path she was walking, and she couldn't tell whether she was inside or outside, but Alice kept going. As she walked she noticed the strange small florescent blue flowers growing all around her with each step she took. She could see that she was not in a meadow or field of any sort, and there wasn't even a sun out. Alice stopped and bent down, picking one of the flowers. As she stood up, she was startled to realize that the flower had turned into puddle of cool water resting in her palm. 'How strange.' she thought, looking at her tiny reflection in the water. She could make out every detail of her face, and she brought her hand closer. Something wasn't right, her reflection began to distort and morph until she could no longer see herself. Just as she was about to dump the water, her reflection became clear again, only now it was different. She could see that it was still herself being mirrored in the water, but she look different. Her hair was matted and frizzy; sticking up all over the place and to the side of her face, her face was dirty and bleeding, there were bruises and cuts everywhere. Her one eye was swollen and slightly black. Her other eye however was wide open and her mouth stuck in a permanent scream. Alice was mortified by the image, and she wanted to drop her hand and forget about the terrifying picture; but she stopped, something caught her eye. Behind her reflection she could see something flashing and she brought her hand even closer to try and make out what it was. Alice's eyes opened wide, her jaw dropped, and her heart stopped. What she was looking at was fire; and it was everywhere. "NO!" she screamed, dropping her hand as she began to run. She didn't know where she was running to, but her feet seemed to have a mind of their own. She ran to a tall building that she recognized as the water center. She slowed her pace, but her feet urged her to move faster. She felt that she needed to be somewhere important. As she neared the center she could make out the many figures of the workers, moving around, preforming their daily duties. As she entered the building, Alice noticed that something wasn't right, it was to quiet. Despite the many people working, there was not a single noise made by them, it was as if she had gone deaf.

'No. That's not right.' she thought. 'I can still hear my footsteps.'

As she neared a large door which she recognized as the manager's, she place her hands on the knob. She slowly turned the handle and opened the door to see her father's boss, and the mayor talking. The manager was sitting behind his large desk with various papers scattered all around him, he had his head in his hands and his eyes were closed. The mayor was standing in front of the desk yelling at the manager, his eyes wide and face red. The manager was shaking his head, the he looked up, and he still did not speak. The mayor walked towards the desk, leaned his hands down on it, and looked the mayor straight in the eye. Then he mouthed something inaudible, but Alice knew what he had said. "Do it or you're fired."

The manager's eyes went wide, and he looked back down. Alice knew exactly what he was talking about; she had heard the story from her father when he told her mother. He was going to poison the whole town. Her father's boss slowly began to nod. Alice was infuriated. She wanted nothing more than to kill the mayor right there. Then she heard it; a gasp came from behind her and she turned around. Her heart stopped as she saw the figure of her father leaning against where the door should have been. Alice's stomach turned into rocks and she felt tears in her eyes. This was the first time since the fire that she had gotten to see her father's face again.

'Dad…'

He stood up and started to back away, but unknowingly backed into the shelf. Alice held her breath as she watched it fall in slowmotion and her father try to stop it, then she could hear again. She heard the shelf crash to the ground, and she looked back over to the mayor and manager and they both ran out. Her father began to run away but she could tell by the look on the mayor's face that he had seen him. Alice collapsed on the floor.

"No... Stop... you... can't... Dad..."

Ciel looked up from his book at Alice, who was muttering in her sleep again. She began to turn over and Ciel saw the concerning expression on her face. Her eyes were shut tight and her hands in fist by her sides. Her blankets were halfway off her body. Ciel stood up and walked over to her and place the back of his hand on her cheek and absorbed the heat radiating off of it. He admired her beautiful features that he couldn't get enough of, and pulled the covers back over her. As he began to walk back to the chair Ciel heard something that made his heart skip a beat.

"Ciel..." Alice said, her face now threatened with tears, but still asleep.

Ciel walked back over to the bad and watched her carefully. "C-Ciel..." she mumbled again. Ciel watched as she reached out with her hand at the side of the bed. Then, in a instant, she clenched her eyes shut with great force and then opened them wide with terror, and sprung straight up. She didn't even have time to realize where she was before the tears hit her eyes, and she began to cry with such force it was hard to breathe. She leaned the upper half of her body down and brought up her knees up to her chest, huddling in a ball, her body racking with sobs. Alice was in such a state of shock that she hadn't even notice the arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. She opened her eyes just enough to see, and she knew instantly who's arms she was in. She didn't even hesitate to wrap her own arms around Ciel and hold onto him as if her life depended on it. Ciel sat down on the side of the bed and held onto the sobbing girl, holding the back of her head. He stood slightly, still not letting go of her, and moved completely onto the bed, where he laid down next to her. Alice felt that they were moving, and instinctively moved to lay in his arms. Ciel held on to Alice's back as she moved to lay on his chest- which was fluttering like bird -and pressed her face into it, her sobs now muffled. He moved one of his hands to her head and gently caressed her cheek. Alice's sobs became less and less and she smiled in the dim light, listening to the boy's steady breathing. It was the only thing she had ever heard that produced such a warm, calming feeling within her, making her feel safe.

Ciel's eyes never left Alice's face as they lay in the bed. He saw the most captivating smile on her face and he felt the biggest wave of happiness flow through him. Alice pushed against his chest, moving the top of her head against his neck, the last of her tears dripping of her face. He watched as her cheeks went from wet with tears and red, then to a calm, and slightly pink complexion. Anger grew inside of him as he thought about how much pain she had been in, and how he was completely helpless when it came to it. He watched as Alice's back slowly moved up and down in a hypnotizing rhythm, making his eyes glaze over. Then something happened to Ciel that hadn't happened in the longest time; he felt tired. His mind raced. Sebastian had told him that demons do not need sleep for they are immortal, and don't succumb to illness such as fatigue, but he had also said that they can if they choose, but the circumstances had to be right. He needed to be completely and utterly calm. Ciel realized that he hadn't felt this calm in his entire life, and the cause of this old emotion was the girl lying in his arms. The feeling was marvelous and he soaked it all in; absorbing Alice's body heat and letting his limbs slowly go limp. He felt his eyes become heavy and begin to close, and just like that, with the girl he loved in his arms, Ciel slept through an entire night, for the first time in 10 years.


End file.
